This Week in VR Sport: Golf on HoloLens, Baseball in 360 degrees

It’s Saturday, it is almost the end of Summer and the start of a new school year. That means some sporting seasons will be starting up and others are ending. Many of theme will be starting their new season with the aid of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology. This week, Baseball and Golf are both on the agenda.

Puttview Enhances Golf With AR

German company Viewlicity GmbH have been showcasing their AR product, PuttView to professional golfers, hoping to get high-quality feedback from professionals. The product uses images imposed on the real world allows using the HoloLens to let players see the best path for the ball to go down, along with other information relevant to putting practice.

Following a demonstration at the Porsche European Open, there is now a permanent PuttView Outdoor installation for people to try at the Green Eagle Gold Course in Hamburg, where the company is based.

Speaking to SportTechie about the future of the product, Managing Director of Viewlicity GmbH Luka Posniak said: “We are always open to new ideas and encourage everyone to get in touch with us to discuss them together. PuttView is not only for professional golfers and coaches, after all, and if you are running a golf event it offers a unique and memorable experience for whoever is there.” he said, adding, “We will have between one and two dozen PuttView Indoor systems in play by the end of this year,” while also according to Posniak, entry into the U.S. market was of critical importance for the company in the short term. “Our main focus is currently to prepare our pre-launch in the US, and to install the first PuttView customer systems this year. We plan to be fully operational in the US in 2018.”

Intel Streams Baseball In 360 Degrees

Major League Baseball fans will be able to see their favourite sport in a new way, thanks to Intel’s VR streams of Baseball games every Tuesday night.

To watch the VR stream, users will need a Samsung Gear VR and, of course, a compatible smartphone. Streaming is handled through the Intel True VR app, which can be downloaded for free from the Oculus Store. The Tuesday night Baseballs games, such as the recent Mets vs Diamondbacks game, are free to view and will be available to view on-demand afterwards.

Intel have set up 360-degree cameras at various points in some of MLB’s most famous stadiums to capture the best view of the action. Viewers can choose to watch the game from any of the placed cameras, or can watch via ‘VR Cast’ which offers a commentated game with camera angle changes closer to traditional sports broadcasts.

“We’ve learned that each stadium, especially for baseball, gives us a greater appreciation for the beauty of the sport and provokes us to have a higher IQ as to how we build immersive experiences in the years to come,” Howard Wright appointed VP, business development at Intel, told Sports Video, “This is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg; being able to walk on these fields and see this immaculate canvas gives us an idea of how we want to spend our R&D dollars towards the betterment of MLB and all the partners we have all around the world.”

Staff Writer at VRFocus who helps bring the news to your screens. Rebecca comes from a background in technology and computing and has been a gamer and console collector since the days of the Commodore 64. She also hosts a weekly gaming related radio show on RadioSEGA.